Detective Inspector Claire Loving, of Surrey Police's Missing Persons Unit, said the force treated every disappearance report "according to its unique circumstances" and that a "person who is frequently missing may be identified as being at a higher risk".

Now UK charity Missing People's director of policy and research, Susannah Drury, has echoed those comments, saying: "Nationally, around a third of missing incidents relate to people who have been missing before – which is higher than the proportion of repeat incidents in Surrey.

"DI Loving is absolutely right to highlight that a person who goes missing more than once may be especially vulnerable, because the underlying reasons behind their disappearances may not have been sorted out.

"We believe that every adult or child who returns from being missing should be offered a return interview to help them discuss why they went missing, as well as what help they need to tackle their problems and to prevent them going missing again.

"Effective return interview programmes, together with follow-up support, can make a really positive difference to those who have been missing, as well as reducing the costs to the police of responding to missing person incidents."

Missing People provides round-the-clock support for runaways and their families through its helpline, on 116000.